Material cooling device



R. L. MGILVAINE 2,531,578

MATERIAL COOLING DEVICE Nov. 28, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 7,194a INVENTOR. Poe; RT L. MILVAINE ATTY'.

Nov. 28, 1950 R. MCILVAINE MATERIAL COOLING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2FiledDec. 7, 1946 IN VEN TOR.

ROBERT L. M ILVAI'NE Patentecl Nov. 28, 1950 MATERIAL COOLING DEVICERobert L. 'Mcllvaine, Glencoe, 111., assignor, by mesne assignments, toHerbert S. Si pson,

Evanston, Ill.,'as trustee Application December 7, 1946,.Serial No.714,784

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to improvements in a material cooling device andmore particularly to a method of and apparatus for cooling granularmaterial, such as sand, by drawing a current of air over or across it.

In foundry work it has been found advantageous to reclaim molding sandby variou methods employing heat and cooling operations. Heretofo-re, ithas been the practice in the cooling operation to tumble the 'hot sandaround inside a revolving drum, at the same time forcing air through thedrum. Efficient cooling of sand by this method is difficult due to thefact that sand packs up along the walls of the drum, tumbling therefromin clumps. Furthermore, the mounting and driving of a rotating drumloaded with sand requires large, and relatively expensive machinery.

It'is to be understood that, while the device of this invention isparticularly adapted for cooling heated foundry sand and willhereinafter be best described for such use, it is not to be limited tothis type of application since it may be efliciently employed in anyoperation in which a current of air is drawn over or through granularmaterial. In this manner granular material may be heated, cooled,moistened, dried, etc.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a cooling devicefor granular material in which the main container portion is mounted infixed position while the material is moved around inside the containerby a plurality of rotating vanes.

It is a further object of this invention to provide method of andapparatus for cooling a granular material in which the material isconveyed to the top of the container and allowed to drop in acurtain-like manner thus presenting a maximum amount of surface to thecooling air which is being drawn through the container.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a method ofand apparatus for cooling material which is capable of drawingrelatively large quantities of cooling air'through a curtain of granularmaterial.

It is another object ofthis. invention to. provide a cooling device thatis simple. in construction and economical in operation. 3

According to the general features of my invention I have provided acooling .device for sand or like granular materials comprising astationary container, series of rotating shelves for lifting the sand tothe top of the container and allowing it to-slide off in acurtain-likefashion, and means of drawing a volume of air through thecurtain of falling sand.

A feature of this invention is the provision of a stationary containerthereby doing away with the necessity of providing a mounting and adriving means for rotating the container.

Another feature of this invention is the provision of rotating shelveswhich take the sand-up from the lower part of the container, move italong upwardly relative to the side walls of the container, and allow itto drop in a curtain of sand across the projected length of thecontainer. The relative movement of the sand and the stationary walls ofthe container acts to prevent packing up of the sand on the shelves.

A still further feature of this invention is the provision of a suctionmeans positioned at the center of the container for drawing air acrossthe sand from both ends of thecontainer. This construction permits themaximum optimum volume of sand to be drawn across the sand without usingvelocities which are too high for efficient coo-ling contact with thesand.

.Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention willbe readily apparent to those skilled inthe art from the detailed.descrip tion of the annexed sheet-of drawings.

On the drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a cooling deviceembodying the features of my invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary end sectional view taken substantially on line11-11 of Figure 1, showing the rotating shelves of this invention; and

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side sectional view takenon'line III-III ofFigure 2, looking in'the direction indicated bythe arrows.

It isbelievedthat the novel method will be'best understood from thefollowing description of an apparatus for practicing same.

The embodiment'of this invention, illustrated in Figures 1 and 2,includes a cylindricalcontainer I EI mounted on a foundation comprisinglongitudinal members! I and i2 and lateral members [3. There is a memberH and a member [2 :extending along each side of the cylindricalcontainer and a plurality of structural members I3 disposed between themembers i I, as best seen in Fig.3." These structural members arepreferably I-beamsor channels. Aseries of reinforcing band assembliesI'd is disposed around the container iii, being positioned in spacedrelation to each other'along the con-tainers length.

'Theweight of the container IQ is transmitted to'the structural membersby means of these reinforcing band assemblies it each of which, as

'bestiseen in Figures 2 and 3, comprises two cir- 'cular angle members Iand I6 suitably secured, as by welding, to the container. A spacer plateI1 is secured around the container between the members I5 and I6. Theupper portion of the plate I1 conforms tothe shape of the outwardlyprojecting flange portion of the angle members "I 5 and I6, while thelower portion of plate I! projects downwardly from the periphery of thecontainer If) to form a support flange I'M. A flange I'Ia fits behindand is suitably secured to each channel member I3. To brace the flangeI'la an angle member I3 is positioned immediately behind the flangehaving one leg of the angle suitably secured to the flange Ila and theother to the structural members II and I2. There is an angle member I3behind each flange portion I'Ia on either side of the cylindricalcontainer. The number of reinforcing band assemblies I4 that is usedwill depend upon the length and diameter of the container I0.

At each end of the container II) there is attached, as by welding flushwith the end of the container, a rim member I9 which serves as a baffleplate over which the sand must pass as it leaves the cylinder Iii.

At one end, the container II) and the structural members to which it issecured are adapted to be raised or lowered as a, body in relation tothe ground or to the supportin platform. This is accomplished by meansof a plurality of jack screws 20 each of which is positioned between astructural member I I and a support member such as an I-beam 2 I.

At the opposite end, the container assembly is pivotally supported on across bar 22 which is journaled in suitable support bearings 23 and 24,and also in openings in the structural members I I at either side. It isto be noted that a portion of the lower end of the member II adjacentthe bearings 23 and 24 has been cut away to permit the bearing membersto be positioned close up against the web of the members II. This spaceafforded by cutting off the lower end of the member II also permits thecontainer assembly to pivot on the bar 22 without interference with thesupport platform. Thus the container may be raised or lowered as desiredto increase or decrease the speed at which the sand progresses throughthe container from the upper to the lower end. 7

In the cooling device of this invention the heated sand is introducedinto the container from a chute 25 extending into the upper open end ofthe container. This chute may be conveniently connected to a travelingconveyor.

For efficient cooling of sand or other granular material it is desirablethat the bulk of the sand be broken up so that the cooling air cancontact, as far as poss;ble, each grain of sand as it passes through thecooling container. To accomplish this dispersal of sand there isprovided a series of shelves 28 and 28a which are secured, as by rivets21, to arms 30 and 30a fastened respectively to hub members 3| and 3 la.The hub members are attached, as by keys, on a shaft 34 for rotationtherewith.

Any convenient number of shelves may be used depending upon operationfactors such as the quantity of sand being processed and the diameterand length of the cylinder II]. In Figure 2 there is illustrated amechanism including four shelves 28 secured on a hub assembly 29 whichcomprises four arms 30 rigidly attached to a pivot member 3 I, and fouradditional shelves 28a spaced substantially half way between the shelves28 and secured to an adjacent hub assembly 32 including arms 30a. Asbest seen in Figure 3, these eight shelves are suitably supported byadditional hub assemblies 29a, 29b, 32a and 32b disposed in spacedrelation along the shaft 34. Hub assemblies 29, 29a and 29b carry thefour shelves 28 and hub assemblies 32, 32a and 32b carry the shelves28a. As many hub assemblies may be used as are necessary to support theshelves throughout the length of the container.

Each shelf, as for example shelf 28, has a scoop portion 28b,substantially at right angles to the supporting arm, which is adapted topick up sand from the bottom of the container and carry it upwardlyalong the wall as the shaft 34 is rotated counterclockwise as viewed inFigure 2. The scoop 28b will begin to discharge sand as each arm 30 or33a approaches a vertical position and will continue to discharge thesand as it progresses further along the inner Wall of the container.Thus a curtain of sand will be allowed to drop downwardly from eachshelf in turn as it approaches a vertical position affording a pluralityof curtains of sand throughout the length of the cylindrical containerthrough which the cooling air may be efficiently drawn. A wear plate 33is suitably secured over that portion of the inner wall of the containerI 0 which is subjected to the abrasive action of the moving sand.

The shaft 34 which is mounted coaxially with the cylinder I0 isjournaled at its ends in antifriction bearings 35 and 36, each of whichis supported on a pedestal-like assembly 31 comprising a bearing saddle38 suitably secured to an I-beam 39 which is attached to a member 40.The member 40 at the discharge end of the container III is disposedlaterally across foundation members I2, while the member 43 at theopposite end is supported by members I I.

Power for driving the shaft 34 is provided by an electric motor 4|. Thismotor lI is attached by a plurality of bolts 42 to a base plate 43secured between the foundation members I2. The motor 4! may be connectedin any suitable fashion for driving the shaft 36, as for example,

by a pinion gear 43 keyed to the shaft of the m0- tor in mesh with adriven gear 44 secured to the shaft 34.

In this type of cooling device the amount of moisture removed from thesand depends upon the volume of air pulled through the sand. With theconventional type of rotating drum, air is usually drawn in at one endand taken out at the other. The stationary container of this inventionpermits the suction blower 45 to be suitably connected to the containeron its upper surface at a point substantially midway between the ends ofthe container. By mounting the blower near the center of the containerand taking suction from both ends simultaneously, the effective flowarea is substantially doubled and the volume of processing air passingacross the sand may be greatly increased for the same velocity of air.It is therefore possible for any predetermined optimum velocity of airacross the sand, to pull substantially twice the volume of air acrossthe sand by taking suction from both ends as by using only one end ofthe container as an inlet.

From the foregoing it is apparent that there is provided in thisinvention a device capable of cooling sand or other granular material bypulling a large quantity of air through the sand and thus effectingcooling by evaporation of moisture from the sand or by direct heattransfer from the sand to the cooling air.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of constructionmay be varied through a wide range without departing from the principlesof this invention, and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit thepatent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of theappended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A material cooling device comprising an elongated, stationary drumhaving open ends, an air circulating member supported in said drumsubstantially at the center thereof for drawing air into said drum fromboth ends and discharging it adjacent the center of the drum, a shaftcentrally and longitudinally disposed in said drum, a plurality of armmembers secured to said shaft for rotation therewith, and shelf memberssecured to the outer ends of said arm members and extendingsubstantially the entire length of the drum, each of said shelvesincluding a substantially L-shaped member with one leg of the L forminga continuation of the associated arm member and extending to the innerwall of the drum and effective to scoop material from the lower portionof the drum and to scrape it from the inner wall thereof, the other legof the L-shaped shelf being disposed to receive the material from saidone leg as the arms are rotated and to discharge the material when thearm reaches a substantially vertical position.

2. A material cooling device comprising an elongated, stationary drumhaving open ends, an air circulating member supported in said drumsubstantially at the center thereof for drawing air into said drum fromboth ends and discharging it adjacent the center of the drum, a shaftcentrally and longitudinally disposed in said drum, a plurality of hubmembers secured in spaced relation along said shaft, four arm membersprojecting outwardly from each of said hubs angularly spaced equidistantfrom each other and secured to said hubs for rotation therewith, andshelves secured to the outer ends of said arm members and extendingsubstantially the entire length of said drum, the arms of each hub beingstaggered angularly with relation to the arms on the adjacent hub andeach shelf being supported by the arms on every second hub, whereby aplurality of shelves extending the entire length of the drum are mountedfor rotation in the drum and spaced at substantially 45 from each other.

3. A material cooling device comprising an elongated drum, means formoving air through said drum, a shaft centrally and longitudinallydisposed in said drum, a plurality of hub members secured in spacedrelation along said shaft, four arm members projecting outwardly fromeach of said hubs angularly spaced equidistant from each other andsecured to said hubs for rotation therewith, and shelves secured to theouter ends of said arm members extending substantially the entire lengthof said drum, the arms of each hub being staggered angularly withrelation to the arms on the adjacent hub and each shelf being supportedby the arms on every second hub, whereby a plurality of shelvesextending the entire length of the drum are mounted for rotation in thedrum and spaced at substantially 45 from each other.

ROBERT L. MCILVAINE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 47,596 Chichester May 2, 186587,613 Abbott Mar. 9, 1869 426,361 Buttner et a1 Apr. 22, 1890 501,048Bassett July 11, 1893 586,278 Weinrich July 13, 1897 702,127 ChurchillJune 10, 1902 856,770 Cummer June 11, 1907 1,126,587 Suzuki Jan. 26,1915 1,641,337 Komarek Sept. 6, 1927 2,026,922 Vincent Jan. 7, 19362,067,506 Silva Jan. 1 1937 2,096,049 Lissauer Oct. 19, 1937 2,174,896Sackett Oct. 3, 1939 2,174,897 Sackett Oct. 3, 1939 2,189,120 AhlmannFeb. 6, 1940 2,424,228

Erisman July 22, 1947

